Big 12 teams trying to reach elite status enjoyed by Tennessee, UConn

Published: Tuesday, November 17, 2009

COURTNEY LINEHAN

A decade ago, Kristy Curry inherited a Purdue women's basketball team that had just won the 1999 NCAA title. During her six seasons there, Curry's Boilermakers played in four Sweet Sixteens, including one Elite Eight and a runner-up finish in the championship game.

Each trip to the tournament proved more difficult to secure than its predecessor.

"It's very hard to maintain that level of success; I learned that at Purdue," Curry said. "And once you lose it, it's twice as hard to get it back."

Tonight the Lady Raiders face the Tennessee Lady Vols in San Antonio. The game pits Curry against Pat Summitt, one of the most prolific coaches in women's basketball. As their sport becomes increasingly competitive through the middle of the pack, Summitt and Connecticut coach Geno Auriemma continue to maintain a stronghold on elite, lasting success.

With a bevy of promising teams in the Big 12 this season, could Texas Tech's conference be leading the charge to change that?

For four seasons, Oklahoma looked like the up-and-coming powerhouse in the women's game. Led by Courtney Paris, a 6-foot-4 center who was built like a brick wall, the Sooners' run of 10 consecutive NCAA tournament appearances now includes a trip to the Final Four.

Paris graduated in May, leaving the Sooners without their marquee player. Oklahoma State coach Kurt Budke says if Oklahoma wants to maintain the success it saw with Paris, it will have to recruit another star athlete. Budke's Cowgirls played in the 2008 Elite Eight, thanks in large part to shooting sensation Andrea Riley, who led the Big 12 in scoring in 2008 and 2009. Now that Riley's a senior, they hope to find that success again.

"I don't think there's any secret formula," Budke said. "If you look at those Final Four teams, usually they have really great players out there."

Budke said the problem for the rest of the sport is that Summitt and Auriemma have first pick at the nation's best talent. Tennessee and UConn claim long-established success, therefore guaranteeing elite players the best chances of being noticed in a game still struggling to find a national audience.

While Lady Vols history stretches back some 100 seasons, the team established

itself under Summitt, who coached her first season there in 1974. Summitt is now the all-time winningest coach in NCAA basketball history; that distinction includes all divisions and both men's and women's teams.

Auriemma took over at UConn in 1985. His teams have won six NCAA championships, five this decade.

Texas coach Gail Goestenkors, whose Longhorns play UConn tonight immediately after Tech faces Tennessee, said the Huskies and Lady Vols have had more money longer than any other programs.

"They were the first to have the scholarships and to pay their coaches well," Goestenkors said. "Connecticut and Tennessee were the first, so they got a head start on everybody. Once you build a tradition, it rolls. It's a snowball effect."

Several teams have tried to collect the same lasting luck. Curry nearly had it at Purdue and before that as an assistant coach at Louisiana Tech. Goestenkors came close during her 15 years at Duke, taking the Blue Devils to 10 Sweet Sixteens, seven Elite Eights, four Final Fours and two Championship games. And Stanford, with Final Four trips the past two seasons, will likely ride its No. 2 ranking to a third consecutive trip.

Big 12 teams sit in good position to compete with Tennessee and UConn for national prominence. Seven of the 12 league teams won 20 or more games in 2008-09. Nine conference players were named Associated Press All-Americans last season. Six teams played in the NCAA tournament.

This year five Big 12 programs are ranked in the preseason AP Top 25.

Baylor is the most likely conference team to contend for a title this season. The Lady Bears won the NCAA Championship in 2005 and this year add 6-foot-8 Brittney Griner, the No. 1-ranked player in the 2009 recruiting class.

But even Baylor learned it's tough to topple the teams at the top, losing 74-65 at Tennessee on Sunday.

"Pat told me a long time ago when I was at Duke and we were building, she said 'Enjoy the ride to the top, because once you get there it's hard to stay,'" Goestenkors said. "You see teams that have gone to the Final Four once or twice, but to go consistently is not an easy thing."